It's been a while, hasn't it?
by Fairy Penguin R3
Summary: Two years after her death, Jess comes to terms with Leslies death and begins anew. Oneshot. This is the first story I'm putting up here and would very much appreciate reviews.


I forgot when exactly Jesse's birthday is, so I'm putting it at April 2nd and Leslie death on May 19th 2007.

Been a while, hasn't it?

At thirteen years old, Jesse Aarons wasn't a happy teenager. Every day he remembered Leslie's death. At first he blamed himself. He didn't care what his father said, it was _his_ fault. If he had been with her, Leslie wouldn't have died. The creek wasn't too cold and it wasn't moving quickly. He could have jumped in and saved her. He could have invited her to come with him. They still would have swung across the creek, but it would have been less dangerous and one would save the other.

It was around two years later that Jess finally stopped blaming himself. It wasn't that he had a dream or out-of-body experience where Leslie told him it wasn't his fault. It wasn't that May Belle or his parents had convinced him it wasn't his fault. What changed was that he decided to stop blaming himself.

It happened one day in June. He had been walking around that night. Though it was getting warm, it was still a cool night. Jess was talking to himself, still trying to make sense of what happened. Sometimes he found it useful to help him through the despair. Forty minutes of walking through the fields and trees beyond the road, but never in Terabithia, he finally realized it.

"We all make our own decisions." He froze. _We all make _OUR _own decisions. _He knew he had screwed up in not taking her, but in the end, it was Leslie who swung on that rope. There were a lot of 'what ifs' to that day. She had made the decision. She didn't understand what decision she made that day, just as Jess hadn't understood his decision that day either.

It wasn't either of their faults, just a cruel twist of fate. Tears flowed from his eyes, but Jess decided that night that he would no longer take responsibility. He would no longer contemplate the 'what ifs' of that day and take them as fact. He had to move on. It was just passed two years since Leslie had died. But he would never forget her. She was still in his heart and he would never forget her. He still loved her.

But he also had to move on. Jess decided that night to never make the same mistake again.

In mid-August, a new family moved into the Burkes former home. A middle aged-couple, the Houstons had moved in with their only daughter, Erica, who also happened to be thirteen and entering the eighth grade with him. She had beautiful blue eyes and brown hair. Jack and Mary Aarons decided to be the first to welcome them- then again, who else would welcome people who lived four miles out of town? Jess accompanied them and met Erica for the first time on that cloudy day. He tried not to compare her to Leslie, but he couldn't help it. But it was minor enough so that Erica didn't know.

But it didn't hinder their friendship. They didn't go to Terabithia that day, as it soon rained, but in the days that followed their friendship grew. He loved being with her. She didn't have the same imaginative power Leslie had, but she could make even the simplest things into hour long conversations that Jess loved. Simple or complex ideas were all the same to Erica. Their conversations were almost always random, whether it made them laugh or if it made him think, it didn't matter to Jess. He loved every minute of being with her. She was even the first person who had the patience to let him sketch. The first drawing wasn't amazing, but it was a step up from his earlier drawings. It took him an hour to do it, but they were both happy with it.

That was also the day he kissed her for the first time. It had been eight months since they met, but Jess had known after the first month of school he wanted to be with her. He thought she would have no trouble making friends, but the perpetual annoyance of Scott Hoager and Gary Fulcher made that hard for her. It also didn't help that fashion meant nothing to her. It didn't entirely stop her from making friends. During the two years between Leslies death Jess had become friends with Abel Turner, a semi-intelligent boy who had decided to dye his hair blue. Jess thought it looked cool, and while definitely unique, it made him very few friends.

Erica also attracted Laura Henderson to their group. Unlike the other three, Laura had no problem fitting in. She simply liked the most unique people, and she figured that was around Erica. She had been around Madison's group for the past few years but never enjoyed it. However, with Erica's group she enjoyed herself quite a bit and found herself happy more often than she did with Madison's group.

In high school a few more joined the group. Anna Jasperson, Kevin Ventes, Carl Ericson, and a few more joined them. But it was only Jess and Erica who were together at the end of HS out of all of their elementary friends. Anna and Kevin were together for a while, but they both understood they didn't belong. They continued to be friends however.

On May 19th, 2014, Jess went to Terabithia for the first time since 2009. He had showed Erica once, a few days after she moved in, but despite her creativity, she couldn't enjoy it like he'd hoped. The bridge was still there all these years later. He hadn't looked at it in a long time. He looked at the shield that was still there.

Nothing Crushes Us.

He remembered Leslie shouting the words. He knew she was still there, still in that piece of his heart he had given her. He knew she would like it. A smile crept onto his face. He wasn't haunted by the pain of losing her anymore.

He had won a scholarship to college for his artistic abilities. Erica was incredibly brilliant and could apply to most any college she wanted and chose to go to the same one Jess did. They kept in contact with their old friends.

While Jess went to college for art, he finished it by getting himself accepted to the Police academy of Roanoke Virginia. Erica became a talk therapist for children.

They had average careers and were married in the winter of 2032. They had two children, one a boy, Roger, and a girl, named Emily. Jess had considered naming her Leslie, but decided against it. He only needed one Leslie in his life.

He lived another forty one years, dying in 2072. He was surrounded by his family and friends. Erica was by his bedside, holding his hand. Abel was also close by, with his wife. His children, their spouses, and children were present as well. Jesse Aarons felt very content. Many of the most important people in his life were right here. The others had either died, or like Laura, were on their way. He and Laura had remained friends for many years and Laura very much wanted to be there for her friend. There was still one person missing, one very important person in his life, but he knew that if he saw her, she would come last.

"You know you're going to live through, don't you Jesse? You still have your duties as an officer." Erica chided him. He had been diagnosed with heart failure, but with the advances of medicine in the last few decades there was more of a chance he would live.

He looked at his wife. "Erica, I retired years ago." He felt something then. Something in his chest. It felt like something left him then. "Erica?"

Laura walked in then, and smiled, knowing that she could still see her friend again before the end. "I'm here." Both woman said at the same time.

"Good." He looked at them both. A wink to Laura. A smile to his children. A nod to Abel. He looked at his wife again and squeezed her hand. "See ya soon Erica."

He leaned his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. He opened them again and saw Leslie come in. She was still the same eleven year old girl he still loved in his heart. He looked at himself and saw he was back to being eleven. They were still in the hospital room, but everyone else was gone. He got off the bed and approached her.

A smile broke across her face. She pushed him gently in the arm. "Hey there Jess." Jess smiled. "Hey Leslie." She hugged him, something he graciously returned. "It's been a while, hasn't it Jess?"

"Yeah." They pulled apart and Jess looked at her again. She offered her hand and he took it. They walked through the door, which turned to a dusty road. Leslie looked at him. "Race you to the end of the road?"

Jess laughed. "You're on!" It was just like when they'd first become friends. Except when they came to the spot where the rope had been, in its place was the Bridge Jess had built.

"Oh wow! That's so cool Jess." She looked at it without moving. "I'm sorry I had to leave you so soon Jess." She looked at Jess with those same huge eyes.

"Yeah well, you're here now, aren't you? Besides, I met Erica and all that stuff happened. I wish you could have been there. And I'm sorry too. I should have invited you that day."

"Well Jess, I'm here right now. Now come on! Heaven is the coolest place you can imagine! It's way better than Terabithia ever was!" Jess and Leslie took each others hand and ran across the Bridge to Terabithia and to the eternity beyond.

The End

Please review. I've never done a story here before and I want to know what to improve on. Plus I had only intended to do the hospital scene and a bit of Jess/Leslie reunited and I'm slightly considering making a story for all the people I made.


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